What the Tide Brings
by Riminns5805
Summary: A short story taking place many years after the end of the film


Castaway Assignment

I can feel myself sinking, surrounded by darkness and bubbles, falling away from the watery sunlight above. Summoning strength I push myself upwards, kicking and clawing. At least I think it's upwards, everything feels wrong. When I surface all I can see is water, vast expanses of it in every direction. A small raft that is nearly sunk drifts beside me, and something white is floating away in the other direction. Wilson!

I struggle to propel myself forward, as the current threatens to bury me in its watery depths. Wilson bobs in and out of my vision, but I keep going. I need to get him back. I need him! And then my lungs are filling with water as I sink into despair. I`m done fighting.

I open my eyes to darkness, with soft blankets tangled around my legs and sweat-soaked hair that almost feels like I really was drowning. A soft breeze blows through the open window, cooling my cheeks and bare chest. Charlotte stirs beside me and gives a soft snort. Her brown hair is in a terrible tangle, covering her soft face and delicate smile. After rubbing her arms, she rolls over and continues her slightly loud slumber. I always loved that, her way of sleeping that always let me know she`s there, so that I never feel the loneliness I once knew.

I remember when we first met, how she was rushing out of that hole in the wall coffee shop in Denver, on her way to work. And she was so caught up in being on time that she ran right into me. She was frazzled and frantic, but took a moment to apologize. Then I met her desperate tears with a smile and a reminder that time is not what`s most important.

Standing, I enter the hallway and pass the other two bedrooms in our small house. The living room is a mess, with toys and books scattered across the floor, but the walls are full of beautiful paintings and photos that bring a chaotic yet beautiful feeling.

I stop in the centre of our perfect home, and look back to when I first stood here with my new wife and our beautiful twins. When it was finally time to settle down and let time pass around me. In a place so different than the island yet similar, with its rocks and summits, yet different in so many ways I can feel its memories fading into almost blissful vagueness.

Outside is our large yard full of coniferous trees, with the Colorado Rocky Mountains close enough to touch. The Jones`s dog barks next door and I can hear an owl hooting in the distance. And when I close my eyes, the wind in the trees flows like waves of the sea, and the grass almost feels like sand on my bare feet. I know I'm not there, but I find it is okay to think of it sometimes. It was horrible, but I survived. And by surviving I can now think of that time with a bittersweet pain.

"Daddy, Why aren't you wearing shoes?" a little voice call from behind. Rosy cheeks and thoughtful eyes, topped by a mop of blonde curls are staring at me from the doorway. They belong to my dearest Airest who is only three, but already seems to understand so much.

"I'm just looking at the stars; there are a lot of them tonight."

"No daddy, you came out here to sleep. And I think you just don't like wearing shoes."

"You know cutie; you are a very bright young lady."

"I know." She tots down the stairs and joins me as I spread out on the grass. "What time is it daddy?"

"It's close to sunrise."

"No I mean what hour?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Daddy!" She and her mother always become exasperated with me about my ideas of time. I just cannot help it, I spent so much time worrying about the hours and minutes and seconds, and it got me nowhere.

I can feel her relax, and soon she is falling asleep on my chest. "My teacher says you named Wilson after a volley ball." Her random statement brings a bittersweet smile to my face.

"No," I say "I named him after a dear friend, my only friend in fact for a long time.

"Then what did you name me after?" she yawns, and before I can answer she takes up her mother's snore.

"I named you after an island, very far away."

"Yes and I will never understand why I let you pick the names." Charlotte stands above me, with a sweater wrapped tightly around her and a sleeping Will in her arms.

"A stroke of pity." For a moment we stay there, staring at the sparkling stars above in the lightening sky. "I finished the book last night."

"Before the deadline? Miracles really do happen."

"I just can't think of the right ending. How can I possibly summarize any of it? Everything that I went through?"

My wife simply smiles knowingly and nods toward the horizon. "I think it will come to you soon enough."

Suddenly the world is bathed in light as the sun rises above the mountain range. I soak in the warmth and look at my family, my small home, and the beautiful world outside it. And the perfect statement floods my mind.

Always keep breathing… because tomorrow the sun will rise, and who knows what the tide will bring.


End file.
